Abstract
Reproductive loss is identified as a unique loss due to the mother’s relationship to the fetus or baby she didn’t get to know. Elements of this loss are discussed as are the differences among the range of reproductive losses. While much of the research and clinical literature focuses on normative or maladaptive grieving, many of the ingredients of resilience–including making meaning, continuing bonds, posttraumatic growth, and having a positive and active engagement in life–are elaborated. Many clinical suggestions are offered, especially the challenges of supporting the mother in the often anxious pregnancy following this loss. An empathic responsiveness to the mother’s distress and concerns is cited as the critical ingredient in whatever interventions are chosen
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Reproductive loss refers to the range of pregnancy losses (e.g., miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, perinatal loss, stillbirth, intrauterine fetal demise, and pregnancy termination for fetal anomaly or elective abortion), as well as infertility, neonatal loss, and a birth parent loss of an adopted child.
References
Aloi JA (2009) Nursing the disenfranchised women who have relinquished an infant for adoption. J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs 16:27–31
APA Task Force on Mental Health and Abortion (2008) Report of the APA task force on mental health and abortion. Amer Psychol Assn, Washington
Asplin N, Wessel H, Marions L et al (2014) Pregnancy termination due to fetal anomaly: women’s reactions, satisfaction and experiences of care. Midwifery 30:620–627
Bardos J, Hercz D, Friedenthal J et al (2015) A national survey on public perceptions of miscarriage. Obstet Gynaecol 125(6):1313–1320
Bonanno GA (2008) Loss, trauma and human resilience: have we underestimated the human capacity to thrive after extremely aversive events? Psychol Trauma Theory Res Pract Policy S(1):101–113
Brier N (2008) Grief following miscarriage: a comprehensive review of the literature. J Women’s Health 17(3):451–464
Cote-Arsenault D (2003) Weaving babies lost in pregnancy into the fabric of the family. J Fam Nurs 9(1):23–37
Cote-Arsenault D, Marshall R (2000) One foot in—one foot out: weathering the storm of pregnancy after perinatal loss. Res Nurs Health 23:473–485
Cousineau TM, Domar AD (2007) Psychological impact of infertility. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol 21(2):293–308
DeBackere KJ, Hill PD, Kavanaugh KL (2008) The parental experience of pregnancy after perinatal loss. J Gynecol Neonatal Nurs 37:525–537
Gold KJ (2007) Navigating care after a baby dies: a systematic review of parent experiences with health providers. J Perinatol 27:230–237
Gold KJ, Boggs ME, Mugisha E et al (2012) Internet message boards for pregnancy loss: who’s on line and why? Womens Health Issues 22(1):e67–e72
Gold KJ, Dalton VK, Schwenk T (2007) Hospital care for women after perinatal death. Obstet Gynecol 109(5):1156–1166
Herman JL (1992) Trauma and recovery. BasicBooks, New York
Hughes P, Turton P, Hopper E et al (2001) Disorganised attachment behaviour among infants born subsequent to stillbirth. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 42(6):791–801
Jaffe J, Diamond MO (2011) Reproductive trauma: psychotherapy with infertility and pregnancy loss clients. Amer Psychol Assn, Washington
Janoff-Bulman R (1992) Shattered assumptions: towards a new psychology of trauma. Free Press, New York
Kersting A, Kroker K, Schlicht S et al (2011) Internet-based treatment after pregnancy loss: concept and case study. J Psychosom Obstet Gynaecol 32(2):72–78
Lafarge C, Mitchell K, Fox P (2013) Women’s experiences of coping with pregnancy termination for fetal abnormality. Qual Health Res 23(7):924–936
Lang A, Goulet C, Aita M et al (2001) Weathering the storm of perinatal bereavement via hardiness. Death Stud 25:497–512
Lang A, Fleiszer AR, Duhamel F et al (2011) Perinatal loss and parental grief: the challenge of ambiguity and disenfranchised grief. Omega 63(2):183–196
Lasker JN, Toedter LJ (1994) Satisfaction with hospital care and interventions after pregnancy loss. Death Stud 18:41–64
Lasker JN, Toedter LJ (2000) Predicting outcomes after pregnancy loss: results from studies using the perinatal grief scale. Illn Crisis Loss 8(4):350–372
Lasker JN, Toedter LJ (2003) The impact of ectopic pregnancy: a 16-year follow-up study. Health Care Women 24:209–220
Leon IG (1990) When a baby dies: psychotherapy for pregnancy and newborn loss. Yale University Press, New Haven
Leon IG (1999) Understanding pregnancy loss: helping families cope. Postgrad Obstet Gynecol 19(20):1–8
Lichtenthal WG, Currier JM, Neimeyer RA et al (2010) Sense and significance: a mixed methods examination of meaning making after the loss of a child. J Clin Psychol 66(7):791–812
Limbo R, Kobler K, Levang E (2010) Respectful disposition in early pregnancy loss. Am J Matern Child Nurs 35(5):271–277
Littman LL, Zarcadoolas C, Jacobs AR (2009) Introducing abortion patients to a culture of support: a pilot study. Arch Womens Ment Health 12:419–431
Major B, Gramzow RH (1999) Abortion as stigma: cognitive and emotional implications of concealment. J Pers Soc Psychol 77(4):735–745
McDorman M, Gregory ECW (2015) Fetal and perinatal mortality: United States, 2013. Natl Vital Stat Rep 64(8):1–23
Neimeyer RA (2000) Searching for the meaning of meaning: grief therapy and the process of reconstruction. Death Stud 24:541–548
Peppers L, Knapp R (1980) Motherhood and mourning: perinatal death. Praeger, New York
Price SK (2008) Stepping back to gain perspective: pregnancy loss history, depression, and parenting capacity in the early childhood longitudinal study, birth cohort (ECLS-B). Death Stud 32:97–122
Rutten BPF, Hammels C, Geschwind N et al (2013) Resilience in mental health: linking psychological and neurobiological perspectives. Acta Psychiatr Scand 128:3–20
Seligman MEP, Steen TA, Park N et al (2005) Positive psychology progress: empirical validation of interventions. Am Psychol 60(5):410–421
Stroebe M, Schut H (2010) The dual process model of coping with bereavement: a decade on. Omega 61(4):273–289
Tedeschi RG, Calhoun LG (2008) Beyond the concept of recovery: growth and the experience of loss. Death Stud 32(1):27–39
Uren TH, Wastell CA (2002) Attachment and meaning-making in perinatal bereavement. Death Stud 26:279–308
Xiaoqin S, Lasker JN (1996) Patterns of grief reaction after pregnancy loss. Am J Orthopsychiatry 66(2):262–271
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Leon, I.G. (2018). Reproductive Loss and Its Impact on the Next Pregnancy. In: Muzik, M., Rosenblum, K. (eds) Motherhood in the Face of Trauma. Integrating Psychiatry and Primary Care. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65724-0_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65724-0_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-65722-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-65724-0
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)